Good Morning. Join us on Saturday, June 4th for LAPD's 19th Annual "Still Saving Lives" Car Show sponsored by Fusion Motor Company. The event will take place from 9am - 3pm at Warner Center Park in Woodland Hills. Click here for more information.
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Biden to ask local officials to spend COVID relief money on public safety
Mayors, police chiefs and other local officials were invited to the White House on Friday to share with President Joe Biden how they are spending money from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on policing and public safety programs. In turn, during an afternoon event in the Rose Garden, Mr. Biden will highlight some of these efforts and urge cities to spend even more of their coronavirus relief money on public safety, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the president's plans on the condition of anonymity under terms insisted upon by the White House.
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More Cops Downtown? Grand Central Market Shooting Rekindles A Debate Over Policing
Los Angeles police are continuing to search for the gunman who fatally shot a man outside Grand Central Market over the weekend, sparking panic among patrons in a chaotic scene caught on video at the popular food hall downtown. Multiple videos posted on social media showed people running for the market’s exits; at least one shows an individual on the ground near an entrance. The shooting was reported shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday, police said. The well-known dining hall has been a downtown landmark for years, attracting thousands of customers a day to a variety of restaurants featuring dishes from around the world. The shooting has sparked debate over policing downtown. Nick Previsich, a downtown resident for the past 11 years, said in an interview with The Times that the shooting confirmed his view that an “anything goes” attitude had taken hold among some people he described as “outsiders” to L.A.'s downtown scene. “They felt safe enough to engage in deadly conflict with hundreds of people right inside” Grand Central Market, Previsich said. At a city budget hearing Friday, Previsich and a downtown restaurant owner called on the city to assign more mental health professionals to assist drug-addicted and homeless people, but also for additional police foot and bicycle patrols, arguing that they would be an effective deterrent against crime.
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3 Killed In Suspected DUI Crash In Granada Hills
Three people died late Saturday night after the vehicle they were in was struck by a driver suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, officials said. The crash happened on the 118 Freeway at the 405 interchange transition road just before midnight in Granada Hills. A Mercedes coupe driven by a Glendale man veered into a Mercedes sedan that was stationary in the far right lane of the southbound 405 transition road, according to the California Highway Patrol. It’s unclear why the vehicle was stopped, CHP said. The sedan hit a wall and burst into flames, while the Glendale man’s coupe ended back on the 118 Freeway where it blocked all lanes. The three occupants of the engulfed sedan were pronounced dead at the scene. Their identities have not yet been released. The Glendale man was transported to the hospital with major injuries. CHP said he is being investigated on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. The crash is under investigation.
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Woman, 2-Year-Old Child Shot In Leimert Park Area
A woman in her 20s and 2-year-old child were shot Friday afternoon in the Leimert Park area. Police responded at about 3 p.m. to the 1700 block of West 53rd Street in the neighborhood southwest of downtown Los Angeles. Witnesses said three men approached the woman and child, whom LAPD said were sitting in a car, and opened fire. Authorities said the woman, a 25-year-old, and the 2-year-old child suffered non-life threatening injuries. It wasn't clear why they were targeted. It also wasn't known if the woman was the toddler's mother.
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Driver Arrested After Allegedly Returning To Scene Of Fatal Hit-And-Run
A 30-year-old motorist was arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run for fatally striking a pedestrian in Winnetka and fleeing the scene, authorities said Sunday. It was not known why Gevorg George Gevorgyan returned to the crash location, where he was eventually arrested, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Division reported. The crash was reported at 9:34 p.m. Saturday at 7600 N. Winnetka Ave., according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. The victim, who died at the scene, was described by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office as a man in his 40s. His name was withheld pending notification of next of kin. Gevorgyan was driving northbound on Winnetka when he struck the pedestrian, who was walking in the roadway, police said. Police said he stopped the vehicle momentarily after the crash before fleeing the scene — then later returned to the location.
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Two Wounded Following Shooting In Hollywood
Authorities are investigating a double shooting that occurred in a Hollywood high-rise apartment building Sunday morning. The shooting was first reported at 1:30 a.m. on the 1200 block of N. Gower Street. When Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived to the scene, they found a pair of men, one in his 60s and one in his 20s, suffering from gunshot wounds. They were both rushed to a nearby hospital. The elder man is said to be in stable condition while the younger man remains in critical condition. Authorities detailed the moments leading up to a shooting, stating that a verbal altercation occurred between the two suspects, both described as Black males, before escalating into the shooting. The suspects fled from the scene and are still considered to be at large.
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Man Wounded In Shooting In Leimert Park Area
A man in his late 20s was wounded early Sunday in a shooting in the Leimert Park area of Los Angeles. The shooting was reported at 2:40 a.m. at Norton Avenue and Stocker Street, according to a dispatcher at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Operations Center. The victim got into an argument with the suspect who fired at him and then fled in a gray sedan, she said. Paramedics took the victim to a hospital where his vital signs were stable, she said.
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More Victims Sought After 69-Year-Old Man Arrested For Sexually Abusing 2 Girls: LASD
Authorities are looking for more potential victims of a 69-year-old man who allegedly sexually abused two girls from 2011 to 2012 when he lived in South El Monte. Jesus Ramirez-Ramirez was arrested last month in connection with the sexual abuse, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release Friday. The L.A. County District Attorney Office later filed three felony counts of lewd acts with a child. He is being held on $1.3 million bail, officials said. “Based on the nature of the allegation and the proximity of Mr. Ramirez’s residence to children, detectives believe there may be additional unidentified victims,” sheriff’s officials said in the news release. “Detectives are seeking the public’s help in identifying any such victims.” No further details about the allegations or the suspect have been released. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s special victims bureau toll free tip line at 877-710-5273 or by email at specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org.
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SoCal Man Sentenced To Four Months In Prison For Participation In Capitol Riot
A Glendora man has been sentenced to four months in prison for his involvement in the Jan 6. Capitol riot. According to court documents, 21-year-old Hunter Ehmke jumped onto a window ledge and used his foot and fist to smash the windowpanes. According to the Architect of the Capitol, the damage to the five broken windowpanes totaled $2,821. Ehmke was arrested days later at his family home in Glendora. Following his prison term, Ehmke will be placed on three years of supervised release and must also pay $2,821 in restitution. In the 16 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 800 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 250 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
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California Church Shooting: 1 Dead, 5 Injured In Orange County
One person was killed and at least four others were injured after a shooting at a church in Laguna Woods Sunday afternoon, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The shooting happened shortly before 1:30 p.m. Sunday, at the Geneva Presbyterian Church, according to OCSD. One person was pronounced dead at the scene. "Four victims have been critically wounded, one with minor injuries," according to a tweet from the department. According to deputies, all the victims are adults, and all of them have been transported to the hospital. Minutes after their initial reports, the department reported that one person had been detained, and that deputies had recovered a gun that may have been involved in the shooting. The Orange County Fire Authority said it had crews on scene, transferring multiple people to the hospital. According to the Orange County Sheriff, about 40 people were inside the church at the time of the shooting.
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New Video Shows Hotel Gun Battle That Ended In 3 Cops Shot
Body cam footage captured gunfire erupting from behind a door as officers attempted to force entry into a hotel room, and the intense gun battle that followed. WISN reports newly released video shows the Nov. 2021 incident in which three LEOs were shot. Officers originally responded to the hotel after a call about a shooting in the hallway. The videos show officers going door to door to search for the gunman when they come upon a room that couldn’t be opened with the master key. As Sgt. Kurt Svatek used a battering ram to breach the door, gunfire erupted from the other side. The video shows officers taking cover and returning fire. A total of three officers were shot during the incident - all have since recovered. Suspect Kenneth Burney faces multiple charges in the incident, including attempted intentional homicide. He surrendered to officers after about 20 minutes, according to the report. Police found two guns inside the room.
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Buffalo Mass Shooting: 10 Dead, Suspect Arrested
A gunman in military-style clothing opened fire with a rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in what authorities called a "hate crime and racially motived violent extremism," killing 10 people and wounding three others before being taken in custody Saturday afternoon, law enforcement officials said. The gunman was identified as Payton Gendron of Conklin, a community about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Buffalo in New York state, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials were not permitted to speak publicly on the matter and did so on the condition of anonymity. The suspect was being questioned Saturday evening by the FBI, one of the officials said, and was expected to appear in court later Saturday. Officials said 11 of the victims were Black and two are white. The shooting happened in a predominantly Black neighborhood a few miles (kilometers) north of downtown Buffalo. "This is the worst nightmare that any community can face, and we are hurting and we are seething right now," Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said at a news conference. "The depth of pain that families are feeling and that all of us are feeling right now cannot even be explained."
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LAFD Crews Battle Greater Alarm Church Fire In Pacoima That Threatened Nearby Motel
Los Angeles Fire Department crews were engaged with a Greater Alarm structure fire in Pacoima, after the flames spread from a nearby structure fire. The blaze was first reported just before 12:15 p.m. on N. San Fernando Road. Flames from the large pile of rubbish quickly extended to a nearby vacant church. As the fire continued to grow, crews evacuated a two-story residential motel adjacent to the church. At around 12:30 p.m., the status of the fire was upgraded to Greater Alarm status as it engulfed the rear of the building and attic area of the church. After a little more than an hour, LAFD disclosed that the 71 firefighters on scene were able to extinguish the blaze. They do not anticipate that any of the motel's residents will be displaced as a result. No injuries have been reported.
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LAFD Debuts First Electric Fire Truck In Nation
The Los Angeles City Fire Department is now the first in the country to have an electric fire engine. The Department unveiled the truck Saturday morning outside the LAFD historical museum in Hollywood. The fire truck was custom-made by Rosenbauer, a manufacturing company in Austria that builds tools and equipment for firefighters. In addition to its lack of emissions, Chief Kristin Crowley says the truck meets all of the national fire standards, is quieter and smaller in width than standard fire trucks and has a tight turning radius. The electric fire truck will be assigned to Fire Station 82 in Hollywood.
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LA County’s COVID Hospitalizations Holding Steady
The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals was holding steady Sunday, decreasing by one person to 318, according to the latest state data. Of those patients hospitalized as of Sunday, 37 were being treated in intensive care, down from 44 on Saturday. The latest numbers come two days after local officials reported another 4,025 COVID-19 infections in the county, the highest single-day number since mid-February, providing further evidence of continued high transmission of the virus. “If you’re not fully vaccinated and boosted, please consider doing so now to maximize protection against the more infectious variants currently circulating,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Friday.
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LA City Council Seeks To Curb Street Harassment In Public Spaces And On Transit Systems
The Los Angeles City Council approved recommendations Friday from several city departments aimed at strengthening oversight and responding to street harassment on transit systems and public spaces in the city. Last June, Council members — led by Council President Nury Martinez, Councilwomen Monica Rodriguez and Nithya Raman and Councilmen Joe Buscaino, John Lee and Mitch O’Farrell — ordered recommendations on curtailing street harassment from the chief legislative analyst, the Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department, the Department of Transportation, the Bureau of Street Services, the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Personnel Department. It also requested the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority to report on past and upcoming efforts to curtail harassment on trains, buses and transportation stops.
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